Delahunt Keeping Costa Mesa Afloat : Water polo: The Southern Section 2-A Division feels like home again for Mustangs and their leading scorer.

Corey Delahunt is leading one of the best Southern Section 2-A water polo teams in Orange County, but nobody seems to know it.

Delahunt, who was the Pacific Coast League’s player of the year as a junior last season, plays for Costa Mesa, one of the league’s best teams in the last five years.

Costa Mesa won section titles in 1986 and 1987 under Coach Mike Conroy and has won five consecutive league titles, despite a coaching change in 1988.

This year, the Mustangs are 16-9 and are playing San Marino in the quarterfinals of the 2-A Division tournament Tuesday.

But Delahunt’s play often is overlooked. That’s what happens when your school is within splashing distance of 4-A Division powers Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar.

That’s OK with Delahunt. He remembers when he was on the freshman team and the varsity won the 2-A Division title. To him, it seems like such a long time ago.

He also remembers his sophomore season, when he joined the varsity and the Mustangs moved from 2-A to the 3-A Division. The new division provided new competition. It would not be easy to get past El Toro and Capistrano Valley every year. They won the league that year, but were eliminated in the first round of the 3-A playoffs.

But Costa Mesa returned to the 2-A Division last season and El Toro and Capistrano Valley moved to the 4-A division with the rest of the South Coast League teams.

“It was kind of good to get back to 2-A last season,” Delahunt said. “But we got beat in the first round, so it was disappointing. We only lost three seniors so I think we have a real good shot at it (section title) this year.”

And now that the Mustangs have had two seasons under new Coach Jason Lynch, they are challenging for the section title.

“This year’s team is a lot more experienced than last year’s and we play as more of a team,” Delahunt said. “We had a really good summer and played against 4-A teams. We may not have won that much, but you get better playing against the best.”

Costa Mesa applies that theory while scheduling nonleague games, and the Mustangs have played respectably against higher-division opponents. The Mustangs lost by only two to 4-A teams Newport Harbor and El Toro and in sudden-death overtime to Villa Park. The Mustangs beat Edison, a 3-A team, in double-overtime.

The experience has made Delahunt one of the best players in the 2-A Division. He has 141 goals this season, and the coach expects Delahunt to score five goals per game.

Among Delahunt’s attributes is the ability to handle the two-meter position offensively and defensively with strength and anticipation. His speed makes him effective as a driver, and undoubtedly his teammates look to their leader in the clutch.

“Of course, sometimes I have to tell him not to shoot,” Lynch said. “Lots of teams know about him. They double-team him or drop a man and he’ll still score. He’s talented enough to turn a guy in the (two-meter position).

“Sometimes I have to talk to him to be patient. He’ll always get a shot off. But I want him to get the best shot.”

Delahunt says his teammates have a lot to do with his success, including friend Tony Fekete and former teammate Scott Taylor, an assistant at Costa Mesa and who also plays at Golden West College.

“When we were sophomores and he (Taylor) was a senior, he took Corey and me under his wing and showed us a lot of things about water polo,” Fekete said. “Corey and I had a lot of fun on the freshman team, but he showed us how to play.”